2012-06-29 MISC: Midwest/Appalachians Derecho

[Derek Weston]

I think this light pollution map really shows just how powerful this derecho was. Take a look the big dark patch over almost all of West Virginia.

Just kidding. That was before the derecho. They're a bunch of goddamned hillbillies out there. has to be bortle 8.0 now. Have you ever made meth under the glow of the Zodiacal light? I know some folks that are tonight!

Power-grid? Doesn't that imply having more than a dozen buildings capable of receiving electricity? And I'm sure green energy solutions will go over really well out there. They see a wind-mill and they won't know whether to pray to it, curse it and burn it down, or hook it up to their meth-lab.

Maybe we can have a star party up there sometime, one of the side attractions will be getting shot in the back with a sawed off shotgun and having your entrails fried up by a dude named Otis.

Just kidding. Love West Virginia. Thoughts and prayers to all affected.

 

[Andy Wade]

A story from a couple I know, who are in their sixties and live in the remote Appalachians:

"We spent Friday night in the midst of the storm on top of Pt Mountain 12.5 miles from the cabin. Couldn't get any farther. The next day after a humbling night, we counted 134 trees that had to be cut from the road between I 79 and our cabin. 104 had fallen after we passed through on Friday night and 30 fell after the place where we could go no farther." I assume they were in their car, stuck on the road, since surely there's no motel or anything like that where they were. For folks in isolated places like that, a simple SVR twenty minutes before a statewide blackout and road blockage doesn't really cut it. They're fine, just had a scary experience, but they're pretty thankful that none of the 134 trees found them!

 

[TrumanBoyer]

Started the day in Smithsburg MD near Hagerstown.

I was painting a car, so I had been paying particular attention to the temp and humidity all day long.

The potential for thermonuclear CAPE had not escaped me, and at 8pm EST I checked radar on my cell phone.
I had not checked it since maybe 4 pm, and the radar app was set for about a hundred-mile square.

It looked to me like an MCS forming about 50 miles to the west of me and lightning data confirmed a linear, bowing
segment, so I thought I'd go out and have a look, thinking that there might be a chance of a bow-echo tornado before dark.

I intercepted the line about 20 minutes later.
I figure it must have been moving East nearly as fast as I was moving West.

Near Mercersburg PA, I found surprisingly strong winds (guessing 45-50 mph -- large tree trunks bending slightly) and
near constant lightning with LOTS of CG strikes.

I was pleased with the fireworks display, but I was totally surprised to see the news the next morning.

I don't know that this storm warrants the term "historic" but it was certainly noteworthy.

The last time I remember a derecho type event of this intensity in the Mid-Atlantic was in June 2002
when we lost the Wye Oak - a 460 year old tree in Wye Mills, MD. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wye_Oak

It took 85 mph winds to topple that monster.

A historic tree -- if not a historic storm.

If you have ever been in thick woods during a windstorm -- you will never forget it.
A single falling tree is enough to crush a house.
I wonder how many trees fell during this event.
Anybody seen a guesstimate ??

-T

 

[Roy Britt]

Here is a link for a satallite view of the June 29th Derecho.

http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/120629-30_g13_ir_derecho_anim.gif

 

[Brian A. Schmidt]

I think the gist of an earlier post was that we folks east of the Mississippi don't know what real disasters are. I think it should be pointed out that seemingly mundane events have a more serious impact in congested, urban areas. Many of the people in the Colorado mountains and other remote areas are better "set up" to go days without modern conveniences. In the cities and especially the east coast, things quickly become chaotic during a disaster scenario - grocery store shelves empty quickly and fuel can run out as well...and traffic flow is a problem if traffic signals are out of order...witness the mass exodus whenever a hurricane is moving towards a large coastal city. Out in the Big Sky country, this is not really a problem...because it is common for residents in such areas to be well-stocked on food and supplies...it's just the nature of living in the Rocky Mountains or wherever. All I'm saying is that we shouldn't compare who has the worst events, but rather we should consider the impact of those events. What may not seem like a big deal to someone out West, may be quite catastrophic to people in the congested urban areas in the east.